Page 105 of The Grizzly Situation

And that was when the dam broke. Wyatt threw himself at me, wrapping slender arms around my waist.

“They’re not my friends,” he whimpered. “I heard them one day, talking about how gross my hearing aids are, how much of a freakIwas, and saying the only reason they hang out with me was because Mom and Dad had money and bought us stuff and took us on trips to Disney and places like that. They don’t likemeat all, just the stuff they get out of it.”

I remembered those kinds of ‘friends’ all too well. Brent rubbed a hand over his back. “Yeah, that’s one of the biggest problems that comes with having money. You can never tell if people like you for who you are or what you can do for them.”

“We’ve never had that issue,” Eddie said. “Everyone here gets along for the most part, because we’re all members of the same family.” He knelt beside Wyatt. “And we’d love to have you here with us.”

“Really?” he asked, eyes wide, his nerves obvious.

“Really,” Jack answered. “You’re one of our family, and we want you close so we can go places. We could take you fishing, hiking in the woods. Heck, we could do all kinds of things.”

“Like rolling in clover?” he asked, wiping his eyes and snickering.

“Yep, just like that. Don’t knock it ’til you try it.”

“Okay!”

So Wyatt ran over to the largest patch and flopped down, rolling in the purple flowers.

“It smells so good!” he said happily, plucking a handful and holding them to his nose.

“Trust us, we know.”

After that, we all sat on the bed of clover and watched the sun trek across the sky. Jack and Eddie put their arms around Wyatt’s shoulders and he snuggled against them. There were no complaints about being bored. Wyatt seemed at home here, enjoying the nature around us. Deer, smaller bears, eagles. They all made their presence known. And from the awe in his expression, I knew this would be a beautiful home for Wyatt and his parents.

By the time we got back to the mansion, Wyatt was rung out. Eddie and Jack carried him to his room and tucked him in before they went to bed themselves. Brent and I sat down with Jamie and Deb, who were glancing at us nervously.

“Well?”

“He wants to be here,” I told them.

“But what about his friends?”

I told them what Wyatt had said to us about how they really felt.

“Those little bastards!” Jamie growled.

“We want you all to be here with us,” Brent told them. “I promise you that Wyatt will be able to make real friends and he’ll always have us nearby if he needs something.”

Jamie cast a glance at Deb who nodded. “We talked about it. We’d love to move here, especially if you’re going to let me open a bakery.”

“When you get home, you send me a list of things you’ll want and we’ll make it happen. I promise you won’t regret it.”

“If it gives me a chance to spend more time with you and Uly, I know I won’t.”

We talked late into the night, with Deb holding Luke and cooing if he fussed. I made her promise to teach me her ways. After a while, I went to the fireplace and tossed another log on, then turned and listened to my family as they plotted our future. One where everyone would work on being happy.

One where Brent would continue to shepherd us all.

One where we’d all prosper and grow.

And I realized how grateful I was that I found myself mated to a bear shifter with two sons—now three—and a life I was so goddamn proud of.

The first ten years was amazing, and I couldn’t wait for the next fifty.